Mélodie Mousset: There It Should Be, 2016, at Barbara Seiler Gallery, Zurich

For SALTS, Mélodie Mousset is producing a new body of work that engulfs more than half of the outdoor cubes. Partially hidden underneath a tumulus made of earth and sand, the new tomb-like structure is decorated with a series of larger-than-life clay eyeballs, and more elements formally connecting to the human body. Large and hollow, these sockets collect water when it rains, and, like flower pots, also are vessels sticking out of the ground. Weird and uncanny, the ensemble mirrors a shrine, where each elements evokes a cult only known by the artist. Underneath the artificial hill, one can enter the cave through a narrow entrance, and is greeted by an animation of a woman, who endlessly transits from the state of volcano to donut and back. Inside, a large glass leg serves as a brewing urn, where cabbage is fermenting.

Mousset’s work extends through numerous mediums, including performance, video, installation, photography, sculpture and new media, including virtual reality. Following her long time interest in the body as a vehicle for physical, ritual, and historiographical interactions, Mousset’s multidisciplinary investigations explore the possibilities of identity – formation in our hyper – mediated contemporary world. Her work features among international public and private collections, and has been exhibited at institutions and galleries worldwide, including MOCA (Museum Of Contemporary Arts), Los Angeles; Kunsthaus Aargau; MAC (Musée d’Art Con- temporain) Lyon; The Metropolitan Art Society, Beirut; Susanne Vielmetter Project, Los Angeles, and most recently at Barbara Seiler Gallery, Zurich.

SALTS would like to thank Swisslos-Fonds Basel-Landschaft, Fondation Nestlé pour l’Art, Migros Kulturprozent, Roldenfund Stiftung and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia for the generous support.